Sustainable fishing comes last in the list of shoppers' environmental concerns according to a new survey, despite a recent publicity drive that included the film End of the Line.
Consumers appear to have ignored the movie's stark warning of the "end of seafood by 2048", with research carried out by TNS for Defra finding 43% of shoppers hadn't considered buying sustainable fish, and that a further 10% had rejected the idea.
This compared to just 4% who had never thought of wasting less food, 20% who hadn't considered composting and 21% who didn't think of buying seasonal food. Only 26% of consumers said they looked for sustainably-caught fish, compared with 88% who said they had cut food waste. Even grow-your-own produce ranked above sustainable fish, with 33% of consumers reporting growing some of their own fruit and veg.
The report said the findings suggested many consumers "had either never heard about sustainable fishing or that they had not given it any thought".
"The future health of our seas is in consumers' hands, so it's a real concern that shoppers don't associate fish with sustainability," said WWF fisheries policy officer Giles Bartlett. "Luckily, retailers have made the decision for their consumers in this area by committing to buy more Marine Stewardship Council-certified fish. This is a great move by the supermarkets, but consumers need to support them by buying the product."
Bartlett said one problem for the MSC was that shoppers suffered from "logo fatigue" due to the array of sustainability and sourcing initiatives and logos on pack. He said the MSC, which was founded by Unilever and the WWF in 1999, had recently redesigned its on-pack logo to become more recognisable, and was continuing to work on consumer awareness.
The WWF is also set to publish a review of different sustainable fishing schemes, revealing which have the highest standards and are most recognisable.
Consumers appear to have ignored the movie's stark warning of the "end of seafood by 2048", with research carried out by TNS for Defra finding 43% of shoppers hadn't considered buying sustainable fish, and that a further 10% had rejected the idea.
This compared to just 4% who had never thought of wasting less food, 20% who hadn't considered composting and 21% who didn't think of buying seasonal food. Only 26% of consumers said they looked for sustainably-caught fish, compared with 88% who said they had cut food waste. Even grow-your-own produce ranked above sustainable fish, with 33% of consumers reporting growing some of their own fruit and veg.
The report said the findings suggested many consumers "had either never heard about sustainable fishing or that they had not given it any thought".
"The future health of our seas is in consumers' hands, so it's a real concern that shoppers don't associate fish with sustainability," said WWF fisheries policy officer Giles Bartlett. "Luckily, retailers have made the decision for their consumers in this area by committing to buy more Marine Stewardship Council-certified fish. This is a great move by the supermarkets, but consumers need to support them by buying the product."
Bartlett said one problem for the MSC was that shoppers suffered from "logo fatigue" due to the array of sustainability and sourcing initiatives and logos on pack. He said the MSC, which was founded by Unilever and the WWF in 1999, had recently redesigned its on-pack logo to become more recognisable, and was continuing to work on consumer awareness.
The WWF is also set to publish a review of different sustainable fishing schemes, revealing which have the highest standards and are most recognisable.
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